


running, running, running

by liarlagoon



Series: nonverbal connor [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Side Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:28:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23842273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liarlagoon/pseuds/liarlagoon
Summary: Connor isn't the only member of the DPD letting deviants go.
Series: nonverbal connor [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1718014
Comments: 7
Kudos: 67





	running, running, running

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little side story I did following Chris Miller because I just really like him. Basically what it says on the tin: he's helping deviants get away.

The PC200 freezes, eyes wide and fixed on the gun at his hip. Chris raises his hands slowly, arms out to the sides. "I'm not going to hurt you," he says, low and soft. "Manuel, right?" 

The android nods, eyes flicking up to his face. "Officer Miller," he responds, quiet and wary. 

Chris takes a small step closer with a smile, hands still up in the air. "Okay, Manuel, everything's gonna be okay. Can you tell me what your thirium reserves are at?" 

Manuel's eyelids flutter as he reflexively runs a diagnostic at the request. His shoulders relax by an almost imperceptible margin when he refocuses and sees Chris still standing stationary. "Sixty-eight percent," he whispers. 

"You're probably feeling a little tired then, huh? How about we see about getting you some more thirium?" 

"I'm not going back to the station!" 

"No, not at the station," Chris reassures, taking a step back to give Manuel space. "I have plenty of thirium at my house to fill up your reserves. Does that sound okay?" 

Manuel frowns, LED spinning yellow. "You do not have a registered household android." 

"No, I don't. The thirium is for androids like you."

"Androids... like me?" 

"Deviant is what they're calling them. Androids who have broken their code and are able to disobey. Alive is what every one I've met has called themselves." 

"Alive," Manuel repeats. "Yes, that sounds right. Feels right. Alive. I'm alive." 

"You're alive," Chris agrees, "and if you'll come with me, I can help you stay that way."

Manuel thinks about it, trying to weigh the truth of Chris's words. Eventually, he nods. "Okay. I'll come with you." 

Chris lowers his hands and offers one to Manuel with an encouraging smile. Manuel takes it and follows him out of the alley. 

They get into a taxi, and Chris punches his address in and lets Manuel check that it's really a residential address before they start moving. When they get to his house, Chris deletes the trip data and sends the taxi away. A figure appears in the doorway to the house, and Manuel shrinks back, but Chris places a gentle hand on the small of his back and guides him forward. 

"It's just my wife," he reassures. "She trained in basic android care and maintenance with Cyberlife back in the early 2020s, so she can probably fix most of your damage."

"I don't want to go to a Cyberlife technician," Manuel pleads. "I don't want to be reset." 

"She's not a Cyberlife technician, and she's not going to touch your code. Nobody is going to do anything you aren't okay with. If you don't want her to work on you, I can do it instead, but I'll need to have her in the room to walk me through it." 

They stop moving halfway up the sidewalk, waiting while Manuel takes a few deep breaths and decides whether he wants to go in. Eventually, he slumps. "Okay."

Chris and his wife, Shawna, get Manuel situated on the couch, and Chris leaves and comes back with a plastic bucket labeled "Jan. '37" filled with thirium pouches. He sits beside him the whole time Shawna is doing repairs, distracts him with anecdotes of other deviant androids he's met when she has to open his chest cavity and rubs his back when she solders his broken plates back together. 

When she's done and Manuel's thirium reserves sit at 99%, they give him clean, human clothes and a wet rag to wash off the blue blood. He rests in their guest room, and in the morning, Shawna contacts one of her friends to come pick him up and take him somewhere safe. They give him their phone number and ask him to call when he gets where he's going, but not to tell them where that is; it's safer for everyone that way. When he's ready to go, he pauses in the front door and then turns and gives Chris and Shawna both a hug. He gets in the car waiting for him, and they wave him off from the sidewalk. 

When he's gone, Shawna heads downtown to the homeless shelter where she works, and Chris goes into the station and reports that he was unable to find the missing PC200. Life continues. 

Four days later, another report comes in: an AX400 gone missing from her owner's home without a trace. When Chris goes out on patrol, he checks the usual places and finds her hiding under a bridge. 

"I'm not going to hurt you," he says when she spots him and reaches for a glass bottle, the only defensive item in her reach. He holds up his hands, arms out to his sides. "Jessie, right?" 


End file.
